Claritev Can't Use 'Unclean Hands' Defense In Antitrust MDL

By Gianna Ferrarin

Healthcare data firm Claritev and a group of major insurers can't assert an unclean hands defense in multidistrict litigation accusing payors of scheming to fix reimbursement rates through the data firm's pricing tools, an Illinois federal judge ruled Wednesday.

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SEC Says Sales Agents Aided Fla. $56M Real Estate Fraud

By David Minsky

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled actions against sales agents connected to a real estate fraud scheme in Florida, alleging in court filings that they worked as unregistered dealer-brokers to raise $56 million from investors through the sales of promissory notes.

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Ill. Judge Ends Another THC Potency Suit Over Vape Labels

By Jonathan Capriel

The makers of Breeze Canna and Cheetah vape pens have beaten claims they intentionally mislabeled their products to sidestep Illinois THC potency limits, with a Chicago federal judge putting a permanent end to the proposed class action after it failed to identify any actual misrepresentations.

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Judge Blocks Voting Order Requiring Proof Of Citizenship

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred the Trump administration from enforcing what she called an unconstitutional and illegal requirement for proof of citizenship to vote, marking the latest successful challenge to the measure from several states.

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How 3 Courts Are Approaching AI Adoption

By Emily Sawicki

The rules surrounding artificial intelligence experimentation in courts run the gamut from court systems offering proprietary tools and training to unwritten policies that essentially amount to don't ask, don't tell.

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Dem Lawmakers Probe SEC On Brokerage AI Agents

By Sarah Jarvis

Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee have urged U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins to detail the agency's perspective on brokerage and investment advice provided through agentic artificial intelligence, saying agentic trading by retail brokerage platforms "raises serious questions for investor protection, broker-dealer responsibilities, market integrity, and the accountability of AI developers."

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Kalshi Sues Ill. Officials Over Sports Event Contracts Law

By Celeste Bott

Kalshi sued Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other top state officials in Illinois federal court Tuesday to block the enforcement of a new law that requires prediction-market exchanges offering sports event contracts to obtain an Illinois gambling license and comply with state gambling regulations, saying federal law preempts those requirements.

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Hospital Exec In Serbia Can't Join Fraud Dismissal, Feds Say

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge who decried the "turmoil" flowing from recent grand jury misconduct revelations while dismissing charges in a nine-figure COVID-19 testing fraud case should not consider extending that order to a former Chicago hospital executive while he fights extradition from Serbia, prosecutors argued Wednesday.

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Fla. Judge Pauses Antitrust Suit Against Brokerages

By Isaac Monterose

A Florida federal judge has paused a proposed broker fees antitrust class action that was filed against Douglas Elliman Inc. and HomeServices of America Inc. due to the pending final settlement approval for a separate but similar case.

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Steps For Employers After 7th Circ. BIPA Retroactivity Ruling

The Seventh Circuit's recent ruling in Clay v. Union Pacific sharply limits per-scan statutory damages theories in pending Biometric Information Privacy Act cases by retroactively applying a 2024 amendment, but employers should not mistake the holding for a broad safe harbor, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

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Why Highly Specialized Experts May Risk Exclusion At Trial

Expert witnesses with highly specific areas of focus may be vulnerable to exclusion in court, making it important for attorneys to check how potential witnesses' qualifications can be bolstered by their publications and other professional activities, say Evan Weisberg and Christopher Cunio at Hunton, and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

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Groombridge Wu Tops Milbank Pay Scale For Associates

By Kevin Penton

Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone LLP is the latest firm to top the pay scale for associates announced earlier this month by Milbank LLP, with attorneys set to earn as much as $470,000.

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Senate Confirming Judges Faster Than In Trump's 1st Term

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate has confirmed 45 judges in the second Trump term, outpacing the rate of his first administration, Senate Republicans announced on Thursday.

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Attys Urged To Challenge Clients Who Demand AI Research

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge urged attorneys during a Thursday sanctions hearing to push back against clients who demand lawyers use generative artificial intelligence tools to conduct legal research, saying the technology is no substitute for professional judgment and discretion because it "aims to please" and can misstate the law.

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Lack Of Evidence Sinks Insurance Fraud Case, Atty Says

By Emily Sawicki

A Louisiana law firm and lawyer found guilty of criminal conspiracy and wire fraud for staging vehicle crashes as part of a scheme to defraud insurance carriers and trucking companies are seeking acquittal or a new trial, arguing that federal prosecutors failed to support their claims with evidence.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein Blasts 'Inflated' DOJ Tax Math

By Jared Foretek

Convicted SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein and federal prosecutors are clashing again over their dramatically divergent sentencing recommendations, with the defense accusing the government of presenting a "one-dimensional caricature" of the famed lawyer in seeking an eight-year sentence, and prosecutors accusing him of potentially deleting "secret chats" with his gambling backers.

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Feds Say Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Was Let Off Easy

By Nadia Dreid

Both federal prosecutors and a Stephen Miller-founded public interest group believe that a Maryland federal judge let a woman accused of trying to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh off too easy because of her gender identity and want the Fourth Circuit to order resentencing.

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Quinn Emanuel Says 3M Fee Proposal Undervalues Its Work

By Carolina Bolado

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has objected to a special master's recommendation on the allocation of common benefit fees in the $6 billion settlement that ended multidistrict litigation against 3M over allegedly faulty combat earplugs, saying the amount doesn't value the "length, extent and impact" of the firm's work.

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